What do Edward Miller, CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, John C. Inglis, deputy director of the National Security Agency, and Stephen Martino, director of the Maryland State Lottery, have in common?

They’re all Eagle Scouts – and your boss might be one, too.

A study by Baylor University found that men who earned the distinction of Eagle Scout, the highest ranking in the Boy Scouts of America, are about 39 percent more likely than other scouts to hold a workplace leadership position and about 55 percent more likely than non-scouts to hold such a position.

The study also analyzed the effects scouting has on other facets of life, including one’s likelihood to volunteer and donate money to charity and closeness in personal relationships.

Only about 4 percent of Boy Scouts reach the Eagle ranking, including more than 375 young men in Central Maryland annually, according to the Baltimore Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

See the full study here.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

It’s been one week since a New York Times report on the Tribune Co. and its corporate culture hit newsstands and the Web and the story is still generating chatter — locally and nationally, online and in print.

The story generated local interest for obvious reasons: Tribune Co. owns the Baltimore Sun, and its takeover of the daily paper and other prestigious media properties in January 2008, and its subsequent bankruptcy filing, have been closely monitored.

More titillating than its “financial hubris,” however, is the New York Times’ account of “sexual innuendo, poisonous workplace banter and profane invective” at the Chicago-based company. Call it Senior Executives Gone Wild (allegedly — said senior executives have denied much of the bad behavior recounted in the story, and board members say the stand behind Tribune management and their leadership of the company).

Three different people mentioned the story to me at last week’s “TechNite” celebration, I guess because I work in media and so the assumption was I would naturally be interested in any corporate shenanigans at The Sun’s parent company. And I suppose I am to an extent, in an I-can’t-believe-what-I’m-reading sort of way.

(Posting pictures of your office poker party on Facebook? Really? Plus, there’s the unintentional comedy of a corporate memo containing the phrase, “News and Information is the NEW Rock n Roll.”)

What I’m more interested in, though, is the whole notion of corporate culture.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

What do hunger pains and your workload have in common? Lots, according to a recent online poll.

Slightly less than half of employees queried in an August poll by Right Management and LinkedIn said they take a break for lunch – and 20 percent say they usually remain at their desk for the midday repast.

“Has the true lunch break become the exception rather than the rule?” wondered Stephanie Krizay, a vice president with Right Management, a career and workforce research and consulting company based in Philadelphia.

Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Offices are no doubt buzzing today over the news that an autistic teenager from the Chicago area correctly picked every game in the first two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament.

The odds of doing so are about one in 13.4 million, according to BookofOdds.com. An MSNBC.com report says you have better odds of winning the lottery — twice.

But Alex Hermann, who entered his bracket at CBSSportsline.com, has apparently pulled it off — in an upset-heavy tourney that has seen top seeds Georgetown, Wisconsin and Kansas (the top seed in the Midwest region) go down in defeat.

Hermann, 17, credits his success to an aptitude for math and the ability to process the statistics he sees during the basketball games he watches on TV. CBSSportsline.com reportedly can’t confirm Hermann’s picks because it doesn’t track its bracket challenges that don’t have money on the line, one of which Hermann entered.

It seems unlikely to me, though, that he altered his picks, which you can see here, after the fact: He has Purdue winning the championship (because his brother went there) and Tennessee in his Final Four.

Imagine the professional envy — or jealousy — such a performance would spark in your office. As my colleague Liz Farmer noted in her March 19 story on how the tournament grips the workplace, the nation’s employers could lose $1.8 billion worth of lost productivity from March Madness. There would probably be some serious watercooler analysis of someone on the payroll picking every game right through the first two rounds.

Then again, perfection could build someone a practically insurmountable lead. Who’d care about the Sweet Sixteen? May as well stay focused and get some work done.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

What do Marriott International, McCormick & Co., LifeBridge Health and W. L. Gore & Associates all have in common? They landed on the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work list.

Each is headquartered in Maryland, aside from W.L. Gore, which sits on Maryland’s list because of its large location in Elkton.

Better yet for out-of-work Marylanders, they’re all hiring.

As of last week, hotelier Marriott (#82 on Fortune’s list) had openings for about 4,700 employees worldwide, with a decent chunk of positions open in Maryland. And, they’re not all housekeeping or front desk posts — many of them are in sales, accounting or IT, with a few interior design and corporate counsel gigs, too.

What makes these places so great?

McCormick (#72), the biggest name in spices, has 14 “junior” boards, allowing employees to have a say in company business and offers domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples.

LifeBridge (#96), a Baltimore-based health system, offers tuition reimbursement of up to $5,000, entry-level employees can take computer courses to help them move up and they offer adoption assistance to employees.

At Marriott’s Bethesda HQ, the company has an on-site gym and daycare, and globally, its team is made up of 61 percent minorities. Employees also get great perks, like hotel discounts.

“Associates,” as they’re known at Gore (#13), are “in charge” and work in a pretty structure-free environment. Bosses at this innovative company, best known for its GORE-TEX fabric, are called “sponsors.” Enough said.

Powered by Bookmarkify™